The invention relates to a device for recording images of the area outside a motor vehicle, and comprises a camera unit, which has a lens, a mounting assembly, which has a through hole, and in which the camera unit is accommodated such that it can move between a retracted standby position in the mounting assembly and an active position, in which the camera unit protrudes at least partially out of the through hole in the mounting assembly, and a cover element, which is designed such that it can move between a closed position, closing the through hole in the mounting assembly, and an open position.
Devices with a camera unit serving to record images of the area outside a motor vehicle are already known from the prior art. These devices comprise a camera unit, which is accommodated in a housing such that it can move between a standby position and an active position. By way of example, such camera units are used in the field of parking assistance for motor vehicles. When, for example, the reverse gear of a motor vehicle is engaged, the camera unit moves from the standby position into the active position, wherein the camera unit protrudes at least partially out of the housing. As a result, the area behind the motor vehicle is recorded visually by the camera unit, and displayed on a monitor for the driver of the motor vehicle. When driving in reverse is completed, and the reverse gear is disengaged by the driver, the camera can pivot from the active position back into the standby position.
In order to protect the camera unit from dirt, at least in the standby position, a cover element is provided, by means of which the opening, through which the camera unit protrudes out of the housing of the camera unit, can be closed when in the standby position. Consequently, in the transition from the standby position into the active position of the camera unit, the cover element must simultaneously be moved between a closed position and an open position.
A device of the type indicated above is known, for example, from DE 10 2012 025 626 A1. With this known device, in order to accommodate a camera unit, a moving carriage is placed in a housing, to which the camera unit can be attached. The carriage is driven by a gearing, which includes swing elements, connected in an articulated manner to the carriage. Each swing element can pivot about a stationary axis on the housing. The disadvantage with this prior art is that the cover element is pivotally supported on the outer surface of the housing, and a corresponding space requirement on the outer surface of the housing must be available when it is pivoted upward, having a negative effect on the compactness of the device, which includes a camera unit and cover element.
Furthermore, a device with a camera is known from DE 10 2007 052 402, which serves to record images of the area outside a motor vehicle. The movement of the camera unit disclosed therein and the movement of the cover element disclosed therein in relation to the camera unit comprise numerous movement steps, such that a complex kinematic activation of the cover element is required. In particular, the device disclosed herein requires a significant installation space for the movement of the camera unit and the cover element.
The object of the invention is to create solution that provides a device with a camera unit and a cover element in a structurally simple manner and inexpensively, which requires little installation space, and which is simultaneously distinguished by a movement path that has been kept short, and consequently by a quick activation.